Doll Furniture

The baby houses of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the toy dollhouses of the nineteenth and early twentieth century rarely had uniform scales, even for the features or contents of any one individual house. Although a number of manufacturers made lines of miniature toy furniture in the Nineteenth Century, these products were not to a strict scale.

There have been several standard scales in dolls houses over the years. Children's toy houses during most of the 20th century were two third scale (where 1 foot is represented by 2/3 of an inch), also known as 1:18 (1' equals 18"). Popular brands included Lundby (Sweden) (established in 1947 and still going strong), Renwal, Plasco, Marx, Petite Princess, and T. Cohn (all American) and Caroline's Home, Barton, Dol-Toi and Triang (English). A few brands use 3/4-scale or 1:16 scale, which is also used for scale III model trains. With the exception of Lundby, 2/3-scale furniture was most often made from plastic. Houses were made from a variety of materials, including metal (tin litho), fibreboard, plastic, and wood.

Unlike the traditional museum configuration of discrete cases with sequential or disjunct displays, The Great American Dollhouse Museums' village unfurls its neighborhoods, streets, rural lands and forests in a vast, continuous landscape. Representing an American yesteryear of about 1900, the hundreds of antique and artisan-sculpted, historically-dressed citizens interact with family, friends and business associates as would any townspeople.

Akiko spent three weeks at the museum workshop this fall reconstructing a period Japanese home, and tutoring our staff in the differences between Japanese and Chinese costume and architecture. Having completed a year-long tour of Costa Rica, Peru, and Mexico, where she studied the language and cultures of Latin America, she now returns to her native Japan.
See a slideshow of Akiko at work.

From the Shaker Settlement to the formal gardens of the Grand Hotel, The Great American Dollhouse Museum has as wide a range of neighborhoods as America itself.

Every dollhouse is open in back so you can see all the furnishings, people, pets, and decor.

Click this link to visit The Village!

Germany was the producer of the most prized dollhouses and doll house miniatures up until The Great War. Notable German miniature companies included Marklin, Rock and Garner and others. Their products were not only avidly collected in Central Europe, but regularly exported to Britain and North America. Germany's involvement in WWI seriously impeded both production and export. New manufacturers in other countries arose.

TynieToy Company of Providence, Rhode Island, made authentic replicas of American antique houses and furniture in a uniform scale beginning in about 1917. Other American companies of the early Twentieth Century were Roger Williams Toys, Tootsietoy, Schoenhut, and the Wisconsin Toy Co. Dollhouse dolls and miniatures were also produced in Japan, mostly by copying original German designs.

After World War II, dollshouses became mass produced in factories on a much larger scale with less detailed craftsmanship than ever before. By the 1950's, the typical dollhouse sold commercially was painted sheet metal filled with plastic furniture. The cost of these houses was low enough to allow the great majority of girls from the developed western countries that were not struggling with rebuilding after World War II to own a dollhouse.

In Germany during the middle part of the 20th century 1/10th scale became popular (based on a metric system where 10 inches is represented by 1 inch). Toy-like houses coming out of Germany today remain closer in scale to 1:10 than to 1:12.

In the 1970s, the standard for adult collectors became 1/12th (also called 1" or one inch scale, represented in the United States as 1:12). There is also half inch scale or 1/24th (1 foot is represented by 1/2 an inch), quarter inch scale or 1/48th (1 foot is represented by 1/4 of an inch), and "dollhouse for a dollhouse" (1:144). Half-inch scale was popular in Marx dollhouses in the 1950s but only became widely available in "collector" houses after 2002, about the same time that even smaller scales became more popular. These smaller scales are much more common in the United States than in Britain.

Dining Room Furniture Set

This furniture set is a great accompaniment to our majestic Victorian Dollhouse. Elegantly designed, they can also add class to any like-sized dollhouse. Includes dinner table, 4 chairs and china cabinet. Ages 6 and up By Melissa & Doug

A room box is a display box used for three-dimensional miniature scale environments, or scale models. Although the name would suggest room boxes generally only represent typical rooms such as those found in houses or other buildings (bedrooms, kitchens, offices, etc.), room boxes are used for all sorts of environments - exterior views as well as interior ones, realistic ones as well as fantastical ones. While some miniaturists concentrate their efforts specifically on room boxes, many use them to take a break from larger projects, such as dollhouses or miniature villages, to create a smaller environment on a different theme. A room box can be tailored to one's interests or mirror an important step in life - for example, a bakery or restaurant scene might be created by or for a baker or cook, and a wedding dress storefront might be created for a bride to be or as a reminiscence of one's wedding. Making a room box is often a first step to learning new techniques in miniature making; such projects are popular at miniaturists' events where attendees have only 1-2 days to make and finish a project. Once techniques are perfected in these smaller settings, craftspersons and hobbyists often reapply them to larger projects.

Room boxes are a cost- and time-effective way to make miniature settings without attempting larger setups such as a dollhouse or train set. Commercially bought room boxes tend to be made of wood, pressed wood products or plywood, with the top and front window made of removable clear acrylic that lets in light and enables access and viewing from two perspectives. Dimensions usually meet standard dollhouse proportions ("1:12 scale" in dollhouse speak means that 1" in the dollhouse world represents 1' in the real world), but anyone can make a room box from a leftover shoebox, orange crate, etc. and adapt an idea to suit the box's scale. Since any material can be used, whether leftover or new, people of all economic classes express themselves through this craft.

The Museum's dolls' house collection is the largest British collection not in private hands. The oldest house, the Nuremberg House of 1673, is one of the Museum's greatest treasures. There is also a small group of 18th century houses, including the magnificent Tate Baby House of about 1760, and a rich holding from the 19th century. Some were made by carpenters whilst others, such as the house given to the Museum in 1921 by Queen Mary, have royal connections.

To view pictures of these doll houses and read about them click here: The V&A Museum of Childhood houses the UK's national collection of childhood-related objects, one of the finest in the world. Dating back to the 16th century, it represents the diversity of childhood experiences across the full economic, cultural and historical spectrum.

The Museum has an extraordinary and varied collection of over 8,000 dolls, ranging from the earliest, a wooden paddle doll dating from 1,300BC, to the most contemporary, a punk doll from the Bratz Boyz 2005 range. The dolls represent men, women, and children from all around the world and many fantasy and fairytale characters. They are made from a wide range of materials from traditional ones such as wood, cloth, ceramic, wax and plastic to the more unusual ones like dried fruit, mutton bones and hair.

To view the dolls and read about them Click Here!

Imagine My Place Furniture Collections-35piece Dollhouse Miniatures Set

Our handpainted Dollhouse Miniatures include over 35 pieces to add that special "homey" feeling to the TwoStory Dollhouse. For ages 3 and up

Imagine My Place Furniture

Our Imagine My Place Furniture Collections include eleven roomfuls of handcrafted wooden furniture that ranges from traditional to ultramodern to country in style, as well as two outdoor rooftop combinations. Pick and choose, mix and match, and define the style that makes you and your dolls feel most at home. Incredibly imaginative detailing makes this furniture doubly fun to play with. Slide the crib sides up and down; open the doors to the armoire; remove the sleigh beds mattress; put the outside umbrellas up and down; stack and unstack the bunk beds in short, spend happy hours at home in the land of pretend play.For ages 3 and up. Each set sold individually.

6piece Log Cabin Furniture Set

Set up home in your Lil Log Cabin with our Log Cabin Furniture Sets. Available in two 6piece settings: the Day set includes a stove, table, 2 benches, shelves and an armchair; or choose the Night set includes 2 single beds, a double bed, dresser, and 2 stool/night

Queen Mary's Dolls' House was a magnificent dollhouse built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V of the United Kingdom. The idea for building the dollhouse originally came from the queen's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, who discussed her idea with the one of the top architects of the time, Sir Edwin Lutyens at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1921. Sir Edwin agreed to build the dollhouse and began preparations. Princess Marie Louise had many connections in the arts, and arranged for the top artists and craftsmen of the time to contribute their specialties to the house. As a result, the dollhouse has an amazing collection of miniature items that actually work. It was created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people, and to serve as an historical document on how a royal family might live during the period in England. It showcased the very finest and most modern goods of the period. Later the dollhouse was put on display to raise funds for the queen's charities. It was originally exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition, 1924/5, and is now on display in Windsor Castle, at Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom as a tourist attraction, especially to people with an interest in miniature houses and furniture.

It was made to a scale of 1:12 (one inch to the foot), is over three feet tall, and contains models of products of well known companies of the time. It is remarkable for its detail and the detail of the objects within it, many of which are 1/12th replicas of items in Windsor Castle. These were either made by the companies themselves, or by specialist modelmakers, such as Twining Models of Northampton, England. The carpets, curtains and furnishings were all copies of the real thing, and even the light fittings were working. There is for example a flushable toilet, complete right down to the lavatory paper. In addition, well known writers such as Rudyard Kipling wrote special books which were written and bound in scale size and painters provided miniature pictures. Even the bottles in the wine cellar were filled with the appropriate wines and spirits, and the wheels of motor vehicles were properly spoked.

Pictures of Queen Mary's Doll House!

Doll House - Glamour Dollhouse Lights and Sounds - KidKraft Furniture - 65055

With our Glamour Dollhouse with Lights and Sounds, play time is more like real life than ever before. With its large size and attention to detail, this dollhouse is like your own home and perfect for the kid who can't wait to grow up. 65055 Features: *Four Levels *21 Pieces of furniture *Bedroom vanity mirror, two elegant chandeliers and stove all light up at the push of a button and brighten your child's playtime experience *Piano, toilet and stove all make realistic sounds at the push of a button *Walls are decorated with vivid, eye-catching backgrounds *6 Large windows allow excited eyes to watch their dolls from different points of view *Accommodates all fashion dolls up to 11.5 in tall *Sturdy construction *Adult assembly required *Batteries included *Material: MDF and plastic *Age Range: 3+ Finish: Multi Dimensions: 32.5"(W) x 15"(D) x 51"(H) Warrany Information: This product is covered under a limited 1-year manufacturer's warranty. Additional warranty information included in packaging. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding this product's warranty.

Doll Furniture - Guidecraft - G98060

Features: *41 Block-style pieces of furniture includes beds, tables, chairs, mattresses, sofa, TV, rugs, lamps, and even a flower box. *All are natural finish hard wood, sanded smooth, with rounded corners for safe play.

Doll Bed With Cabinets by Badger Doll Furniture

This Badger Basket doll bed is perfect for sleeping and organization. The doll bed comes equipped with working cabinets and drawers for all of dolls accessories and a mirror so doll can see just how beautiful he/she is. Doll bed is perfect for dolls up to 18". Ages 3 and Up By Badger Basket

Educational Toy - Lil' Doll Tea Set with Pink Basket - KidKraft Furniture - 64601

Teatime with dolls and friends is extra fun with our Poly-porcelain tea set. Crafted in shatter-resistant poly-porcelain, and hand-painted with attractive, colorful dots, our tea-set is packaged in a sweet, pink basket that doubles as a picnic hamper. 64601 Features: *4 Tea cups *4 Saucers *1 Creamer *1 Sugar *4 T-spoons *Pink basket lined with pink and white gingham fabric *Material: Poly-Porcelain and plastic basket *Age Range: 3-8 yrs. Finish: Pink, Yellow, Blue and Green Dimensions: 9"(W) x 8"(D) x 4.75"(H) Warrany Information: This product is covered under a limited 1-year manufacturer's warranty. Additional warranty information included in packaging. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding this product's warranty.

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Much of the information used here has been researched from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.